CRIMINAL

LAW 1 REVIEWER

CHAPTER 3: DURATION AND EFFECT OF PENALTIES

SECTION 1 DURATION OF PENALTIES

Article 27.
Reclusion perpetua. Any person sentenced to any of the perpetual
penalties shall be pardoned after undergoing the penalty for thirty
years, unless such person by reason of his conduct or some other
serious cause shall be considered by the Chief Executive as unworthy
of pardon.

Reclusion temporal. The penalty of reclusion temporal shall be
from twelve years and one day to twenty years.

Prision mayor and temporary disqualification. The duration of the
penalties of prision mayor and temporary disqualification shall be
from six years and one day to twelve years, except when the penalty
of disqualification is imposed as an accessory penalty, in which case
its duration shall be that of the principal penalty.

Prision correccional, suspension, and destierro. The duration of the
penalties of prision correccional, suspension and destierro shall be
from six months and one day to six years, except when suspension is
imposed as an accessory penalty, in which case, its duration shall be
that of the principal penalty.

Arresto mayor. The duration of the penalty of arresto mayor shall
be from one month and one day to six months.

Arresto menor. The duration of the penalty of arresto menor shall
be from one day to thirty days.

Bond to keep the peace. The bond to keep the peace shall be
required to cover such period of time as the court may determine.

POINTS

I. Duration Of Each Different Penalties
1. Reclusion perpetua 20 yrs. and 1 day to 40 yrs.
2. Reclusion temporal 12 yrs. and 1 day to 20 yrs.
3. Prision mayor and temporary disqualification 6 years. and 1
day to 12 yrs, except when disqualification is accessory penalty,
in which case its duration is that of the principal penalty.
4. Prision correctional, suspension, and destierro 6 months and
1 day to 6 yrs, except when suspension is an accessory penalty
in which case its duration is that of the principal penalty.
5. Arresto mayor 1 month and 1 day to 6 months.
6. Arresto menor 1 day to 30 days
7. Bond to keep the peace the period during which the bond
shall be effective is discretionary on the court.

II. Temporary Disqualification And Suspension When Imposed As
Accessory Penalties, Have Different Durations They Follow The
Duration Of The Principal Penalty.

III. In What Cases Is Destierro Imposed?
1. Serious physical injuries or death under exceptional
circumstances (Article 247).
2. In case of failure to give bond for good behavior (Article 284).
3. As a penalty for the concubine in concubinage (Article 334).
4. In cases where after reducing the penalty by one or more
degrees, destierro is the proper penalty.

IV. Bond To Keep The Peace Is Not Specifically Provided So As A
Penalty For Any Felony And Therefore Cannot Be Imposed By The
Court.

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Bond for good behavior under Article 284 of the Code is only
required of a person making a grave or light threat, and not in
other cases or crimes.

Article 28. Computation of penalties.
If the offender shall be in prison, the term of the duration of the
temporary penalties shall be computed from the day on which the
judgment of conviction shall have become final.

If the offender be not in prison, the term of the duration of the
penalty consisting of deprivation of liberty shall be computed from
the day that the offender is placed at the disposal of the judicial
authorities for the enforcement of the penalty. The duration of the
other penalties shall be computed only from the day on which the
defendant commences to serve his sentence.

POINTS

I. Rules In Computation Of Penalties:
1. When the offender is in prison: the duration of temporary
penalties is from the day on which the judgment of conviction
becomes final.
o Reason for Rule 1 Computation begins from the date
conviction becomes final and not from the day of his
detention, because under Article 24 the arrest and
temporary detention is not considered a penalty.
o An accused who appealed will commence serving his
sentence from the date the appellate court
promulgated its decision, NOT when the trial court
promulgated it (Ocampo v. Court of Appeals).
2. When the offender is not in prison: the duration of penalties
consisting in deprivation of liberty, is from the day that the
offender is placed at the disposal of judicial authorities for the
enforcement of the penalty.

3. The duration of other penalties: the duration is from the day

on which the offender commences to serve his sentence.

II. Rules In Cases Of Temporary Penalties:
If under detention Rule 1 applies
If not detained Rule 3 applies
Examples of temporary penalties:
1. Temporary absolute disqualification
2. Temporary special disqualification
3. Suspension

III. Rules In Cases Of Penalties Consisting Of Deprivation Of Liberty
Not in prison Rule 2 applies.
In prison (e.g. preventive imprisonment) Rule 3 applies
Exemption: offender is entitled to deduction of full time or 4/5
of the time of his detention (See Article 29).
Examples of penalties consisting in deprivation of liberty:
1. Imprisonment
2. Destierro

Article 29. Period of preventive imprisonment deducted from term
of imprisonment.
Offenders or accused who have undergone preventive imprisonment
shall be credited in the service of their sentence consisting of
deprivation of liberty, with the full time during which they have
undergone preventive imprisonment if the detention prisoner agrees
voluntarily in writing to abide by the same disciplinary rules imposed
upon convicted prisoners, except in the following cases:
1. When they are recidivists, or have been convicted previously
twice or more times of any crime; and
2. When upon being summoned for the execution of their
sentence they have failed to surrender voluntarily.

If the detention prisoner does not agree to abide by the same

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disciplinary rules imposed upon convicted prisoners, he shall be
credited in the service of his sentence with four-fifths of the time
during which he has undergone preventive imprisonment. (As
amended by Republic Act No. 6127, June 17, 1970).

Whenever an accused has undergone preventive imprisonment for a
period equal to or more than the possible maximum imprisonment of
the offense charged to which he may be sentenced and his case is not
yet terminated, he shall be released immediately without prejudice to
the continuation of the trial thereof or the proceeding on appeal, if
the same is under review. In case the maximum penalty to which the
accused may be sentenced is destierro, he shall be released after
thirty (30) days of preventive imprisonment. (As amended by Republic
Act No. 6127, and further amended by E.O. No. 214, prom. July 10,
1987.)
When is there preventive imprisonment?

POINTS

I. When Is There Preventive Imprisonment?
The accused undergoes preventive imprisonment when the
offense charged is non-bailable, or even if bailable, he cannot
furnish the required bail.
Preventive penalties are considered even in the case of
perpetual punishments. This article does not make any
distinction between temporal and perpetual penalties.

II. The Full Time Or Four-Fifths Of The Time During Which The
Offenders Have Undergone Preventive Imprisonment Shall Be
Deducted From The Penalty Imposed
Full Time if the detention prisoner agrees voluntarily in
writing to abide by the same disciplinary rules imposed upon
convicted prisoners.

Exception: Youthful offenders shall be credited in the

service of his sentence with the full time he spent in
actual confinement and detention. The written consent
to abide by the disciplinary rules is not necessary.
(Article 197, Presidential Decree No. 603).
o Exception: Section 41, Juvenile Justice Act states that
any form of physical restraint imposed on a child in
conflict with the law including his community service or
commitment to a rehab center shall be considered as
preventive imprisonment. Thus:
If the minor juvy is imprisoned pending trial, he
shall be credited with the service of the
sentence with the full time in which the child
was preventively imprisoned.
If the child has served the full time, director can
determine if child still has to stay in rehab.
4/5 Time if the detention prisoner does not agree to abide
by said disciplinary rules.
o

III. The Credit Is Given In The Service Of Sentences Consisting Of
Deprivation Of Liberty
Destierro constitutes deprivation of liberty.
o Although destierro is not imprisonment, a person
penalized with such may still be credited with the time
he underwent preventive imprisonment.
o If destierro is the maximum penalty to which the
accused may be sentenced, he must still be released
after serving whatever prison sentence (for example
arresto menor) is required, since destierro is not served
in prison (See p.634).

A. Credit When Punished Only With A Fine
If the offense for which the offender is undergoing preventive
imprisonment is punishable by imprisonment or a fine, and

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upon conviction the court imposed on him only a fine, there is

no credit to be given.
The fine imposed cannot be lessened in light of ones
preventive imprisonment.

B. Credit When Punished With Imprisonment
1. The convict is to be released immediately if the penalty
imposed after trial is less than the full time or four-fifths of the
time of the preventive imprisonment.
o The accused is to be released immediately whenever
he has undergone preventive imprisonment for a
period equal to or more than the possible maximum
imprisonment for the offenses charged.
o In such case, file a petition for habeas corpus to secure
your release if youre not released.
2. Offenders not entitled to the full time or four-fifths of the time
of preventive imprisonment:
a. Recidivists or those previously convicted twice or more
of any crime (Habitual delinquent is included).
b. Those who, upon being summoned for the execution of
their sentence, failed voluntarily to surrender.

C. Credit When Punished With Imprisonment And Fine
What if the accused is detained, then sentenced to
imprisonment and fine, and he has already served his sentence
but has not yet paid the fine, may he be released? No. He has
to pay the fine first.

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